Woman had to have both legs amputated after getting ‘severe’ cough
Warning: This article contains graphic images which some readers may find distressing
A woman had both of her legs amputated after she first began suffering with a 'severe' cough at her cousin's wedding. But the truth was far more sinister, and it turned out to be a deadly flu which left her with sepsis and put her in a 40-day coma, with her feet then turning 'black'.
Denise Dibrell, 52, was attending her cousin's wedding in Tennessee in July last year when she contracted a cough so bad that she couldn't breathe when laying down. After returning home, she then tested positive for influenza A.
She was rushed to the emergency room St Rose Dominican Hospital in Nevada before being put into an induced coma after she suffered with respiratory distress. She then went into septic shock and was given vasopressor medication to constrict blood vessels, increasing blood pressure and circulation.
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Denise says due to a lack of blood flow to her extremities, her brother David, 56, began to notice her feet turning black. Her feet then 'died and became mummified' while in a coma before she eventually woke up on August 18.
On September 15, 2025, she then underwent a double amputation of her legs below the knee, spending a further six weeks in hospital. A year into her recovery and Denise has been fitted with prosthetic legs, meaning she has had to earn how to walk all over again.
"I had so many blood clots, and my blood pressure plummeted so low because there was no circulation getting to my feet," she said. "There was nothing they could do about it. Over the course of the next 30 days my feet died and became mummified and all while I was in a coma.
"I'm out here kicking a**, I'm not laying down and not sitting in misery. I see it as a blessing more than I do anything else. The fact I do have my hands and the fact I did make it is amazing. The fact I'm learning how to walk.
"There are other things though. I don't have insurance, I don't have a job and my physical therapy is on hold. It's been a year of awakening".
Speaking about her difficulty in breathing while attending a cousin's wedding, Denise explained how she was taking over the counter mediation before when she attended her nearest urgent care centre.
She said: "They came in and took my vitals and whatnot, and I guess my oxygen saturation level was low, but they didn't really freak out or anything. They said, 'ok let's just do a test for influenza'.
"It came back positive for influenza A.
"The doctors said calmly, 'Well, hey, let's have an ambulance come to get you to take you to the emergency room for further tests'. He doesn't tell me I'm in any kind of respiratory distress, if anything. Once the ambulance came, I remember nothing else until roughly 40 days later".
Doctors almost switched off Denise's life support after coma
Doctors explained to her brother that a side effect of the vasopressor medication could potentially turn both her feet black as the circulation to them was cut off. On August 15 doctors talked to Denise's mum Patricia, 76, to discuss removing her life support - but her mum said no.
"Thank God she said 'no, let's keep her on life support,' Denise said. "They had tested for brain activity and all that good stuff and were saying I should be ok but couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be issues – cognitively there are some but nothing I've seen other people have to deal with. Had she said no, I wouldn't be here right now".
After waking from her coma on August 18, Denise says she 'had no idea what was going on' but after she stabilised was discharged on August 20 to wait until her feet were at a point they were ready for surgery. Due to intense pain in her feet, her amputation was scheduled, and on September 15 2025 she underwent the three-hour surgery.
Further complications due to the surgery meant she developed antibiotic-resistant infections, suffered blood clots and lost all her hair. She also needed a second revision surgery on her right leg after it was not healing correctly.
She explained: "Luckily I've been blessed to be recovering, and mentally I am stronger than I've ever been. My mental capacity came back pretty good, but I did have some memory loss.
"I also had physical therapy and have started learning how to walk again. Now I'm in my below-the-knee prosthetics, and I can walk aided. I can walk with a walker".
Due to not having insurance, Denise's physical therapy is now on hold until she can fund further sessions. She added: "Of course I saw my legs were gone, but it felt like I was a miracle and that was a bit of a sacrifice that was given.
"There's the saying 'life or limb', and mine was life".
James Holt